Hypnosis and related forms of non-pharmaceutical sedation are well known and frequently implemented tools used to assist people in achieving a variety of objectives, such as, for example, to reduce fear or anxiety, to increase focus on a specific task, to curb an undesirable behavior, or to help control other emotions. In a traditional scenario, a therapist will work with a patient in a one on one setting to help the patient focus in order to access the patient's subconscious and provide suggestions relating to achievement of a desired goal. Ideally, the patient is able to access the benefits of the therapy once the therapy session is over, and at the time(s) when the goal is to be achieved. For example, a first patient might need help fighting the urge to have a cigarette. During therapy, suggestions are implanted that cause the patient to relate the taste of cigarettes with something bad, such that the later thought of them is less appealing. In another example, a second patient may experience high anxiety each time they visit the dentist. During therapy, suggestions are implanted to help associate the waiting room of the dentist's office with a sense of calm. However, people that seek hypnotic or related non-pharmaceutical sedation treatments (referred to herein in a non-limiting manner as “patients”) often cannot access the suggestions at the proper time, or the anxieties or impulses relating to the goal may overcome the strength of the suggestion. In these cases, patients can benefit from a more timely delivery of the suggestion, so that it is received at the time when most needed.
It has been recognized that therapy sessions may be pre-recorded and played back on demand. For example, U.S. Publ. No. 2013/0236865 entitled “Systems and Methods for Modifying Human Behavior Using an Audio Recording During Sleep” teaches the playback of a recorded therapy session during sleep to help reinforce the therapeutic message. However, the session is generated manually by the therapist, and cannot be modified or tailored for a specific need by the patient upon demand. U.S. Pat. No. 6,057,846 entitled “Virtual Reality Psychophysiological Conditioning Medium teaches a “virtual reality device” used to induce a state of meditation or hypnosis upon demand. But the message is still pre-determined by the therapist and not adjustable by the user. Such messages may not fit the immediate need of the patient, or may not fit the time window that the patient has available.
Somewhat more flexibility and user control is suggested by U.S. Pat. No. 6,565,504 entitled “Method and Apparatus to Create and Induce a Self-Created Hypnosis,” which teaches an “interactive computer device” that presents a “custom hypnosis script” to induce hypnosis and make behavioral suggestions. According to the invention, a user submits responses to pre-set questions that form gaps in an already existing or pre-assembled script, e.g., “pre-programmed textual material.” A script is assembled based on these inputs and sent back to the user. While this adds slightly more flexibility, the user is still stuck with the formal nature of the pre-set questions, and it is really the therapist that is creating the script using the responses. The length of the script or audio file is pre-established by the therapist or the program written at the request of the therapist. Patients (users) must be careful not to induce a state of hypnosis during which they will be needed to perform complex activities. If the script lasts 30 minutes, the patient must have at least that much time to dedicate to listening to the script in the prior art systems. However, a patient in a dental waiting room, for example, may have only a few minutes before their scheduled appointment. They need a quick, tailored solution available to help ease their anxiety.
What is needed is a software solution that provides superior flexibility to the user of the hypnosis script, and provides them a solution that does not rely on the input or control of a therapist in situations where that is not practical or possible. The patient should be able to establish the length of the script, and it can be assembled (dynamically, if necessary) to accommodate that time window. Furthermore, options and selections are needed that can allow a user to fully tailor the script to their purpose, rather than simply providing answers to pre-set questions. An improved solution would involve truly tailored inputs, e.g., where the user can provide material that can be placed within the script for compilation with other content that is then automatically assembled into a customized script for playback.